Mason v. CVS Health

384 F. Supp. 3d 882
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedMay 3, 2019
DocketCase No. 2:17-cv-787
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 384 F. Supp. 3d 882 (Mason v. CVS Health) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mason v. CVS Health, 384 F. Supp. 3d 882 (S.D. Ohio 2019).

Opinion

EDMUND A. SARGUS, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Ohio CVS Stores, LLC's ("CVS") Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 24). Plaintiff has filed a Response in Opposition to Summary Judgment (ECF No. 26) and Defendant replied (ECF No. 27). For the reasons set forth herein, Defendant's Motion (ECF No. 24) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART .

I.

Plaintiff Pamela Sue Mason ("Ms. Mason" or "Plaintiff") has filed suit alleging that Ohio CVS Stores, LLC ("CVS" or "Defendant") has violated Ohio's negligence and products liability laws. (See generally Compl. [ECF No. 2] ). Plaintiff's claims stem from the alleged wrongful distribution of prescription medication to the Plaintiff, the facts of this case are as follows.

On July 24, 2015, an employee of CVS store number 3174, located in Newark, Ohio, filled a prescription for Amitriptyline HCL 150 mg tablets for another patient. On that same day, CVS filled several prescriptions for Plaintiff, to include: Januvia 100 mg tablets, Ropinirole HCL 1 mg tablets, and Gabapentin 600 mg tablets; a licensed pharmacist verified these prescriptions. (Homan Affidavit ¶¶ 4-5, 7) [ECF No. 24-1, Ex. A].

On July 28, 2015, an individual on behalf of the Plaintiff retrieved Plaintiff's prescription *885medications from CVS. (Homan Affidavit ¶ 6). Plaintiff submits that CVS dispensed a bottle of Amitriptyline HCL that was prescribed to another individual and was inadvertently mixed in with her prescription medications. (See Mason Dep. 18:3-7 [ECF No. 24-1, Ex. B] ). The prescription bottle containing the Amitriptyline was appropriately marked and detailed that the medication within the bottle was 150mg Amitriptyline HCL tablets and that the prescription was for an individual other than the Plaintiff. (See Photographs A1-A3 [ECF No. 24-1, Ex. E] ).

It was Plaintiff's practice to place her medication into a weekly pillbox that was divided into sections for each day of the week. (See Mason Dep. 20:21-21:14). Plaintiff would refill the pillbox whenever it was empty. (Id. 21:1-11). When refilling her pillbox, Plaintiff would not typically look at the labels on the prescription bottles because she knew when she was to take her medication. (Id. 20:21-25, 22:6-22). Plaintiff claims that she took two tablets of the Amitriptyline, believing that the tablets were part of her prescribed medication. (See id. 19:4-14).

On August 9, 2015, Plaintiff's niece was visiting and noticed that she was acting abnormally. (See id. 52:1-7, 52:14-53:3). Plaintiff was "picking at the air" and "slapping [her]self," so her niece called an ambulance, which transported Plaintiff to the Licking Memorial Hospital. (See id. 52:1-7, 52:17-53:3). Plaintiff was transferred from the Licking Memorial Hospital to the Ohio State Medical Center, where she stayed for three days. (See id. 54:14-22).

On August 3, 2017, Plaintiff commenced this lawsuit by filing a Complaint in a Licking County Court of Common Pleas asserting Ohio products liability and negligence claims against CVS. CVS removed the case to this Court on September 6, 2017. CVS has now moved for summary judgment on all of Plaintiff's claims. That motion is ripe for review.

II.

Summary judgment is proper when "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The onus of establishing that there are no genuine issue of material facts is on the movant, and the movant may establish a genuine issue of material facts by demonstrating that the non-moving party lacks evidence to support an essential element of her claim. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Barnhart v. Pickrel Schaeffer & Ebeling Co. , 12 F.3d 1382, 1388-89 (6th Cir. 1993). If achieved, the non-moving party must "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ). When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co. , 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970).

There is a genuine issue of material facts if the non-moving party can present "significant probative evidence" to show that "there is [more than] some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Moore v. Philip Morris Cos. , 8 F.3d 335, 339-40 (6th Cir. 1993). In other words, "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party," Anderson , 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505 ; see also Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (concluding that summary judgment is proper when the evidence could not lead the trier of fact to find for the non-moving party).

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Bluebook (online)
384 F. Supp. 3d 882, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mason-v-cvs-health-ohsd-2019.